Court strikes out Aminu’s bid to stop Newswatch newspapers

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday struck out a motion for a perpetual injunction seeking to stop further publication of Newswatch newspapers.

The motion was filed by two former directors of Newswatch Communications Limited, Nuhu Wada Aruda and Prof. Jibril Aminu, who claimed to be representing minority shareholders of the media establishment.

Mr. Justice Ibrahim Buba held that he would prefer to hear the plaintiffs’ case on merit, since all parties to the matter were represented in court.

He added that there would be no need for restraining order.

Aruda and Aminu had requested the court to stop further publication of Newswatch newspaper titles pending the determination of the substantive suit.

They accused the new management under Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim of systematically working to kill the company’s main product – Newswatch weekly magazine – and replace it with a daily newspaper to be published by a newly incorporated company – Newswatch Newspapers Limited – an organisation in which Ibrahim’s company, Global Media Mirror Limited, owns the majority shares.

The shareholders, in their main suit brought via a petition, urged the court to set aside the Shareholders’ Agreement through which Ibrahim assumed the majority shareholding in the company.

They averred that Ibrahim, the new Chairman of Newswatch Communications Limited, and the company “have not called a general meeting since the new illegal take over of the company.”

The court on January 31 assumed jurisdiction to hear the matter, dismissing the defendants’ preliminary objection.